Chapter 14: Return

Baticul finally appeared on the horizon late in the morning of the following day. The clouds that had plagued the morning sky were now dispersing and the afternoon held the promise of sunshine. Luke quietly watched the city slowly growing in size as they approached his hometown.

It would be nice to finally be home. He could finally relax in his own bed and eat some of the chef's awesome cooking. Luke couldn't even begin to describe how nice it would be to lounge around without worrying that he'd be attacked by a group of bandits or a rather sadistic colonel. Yet somehow... mixed in with all the excitement and relief that his grand adventure was coming to a close, Luke found another feeling he never thought he would feel with his home finally in sight.

Dread. Luke was dreading returning home. Part of him didn't want to go back to his tedious day to day life, where nothing interesting or fun ever happened, and where he was tied down, never allowed to leave the city. He knew after a few days, Ion and the others would all leave; they had their own lives to go back to after all, and he would be alone. Sure he still had Asch and Guy, but it wasn't the same. He was grateful to have them both around, but he still cherished his new friends, and not being able to go visit them or talk to them again, wasn't something Luke wasn't ready to deal with.

No matter how much as he wished it would just go away for awhile, the towering city of Baticul continued to get closer until the massive ferry lurched to a stop alongside one of Baticul's many piers. There were few people aboard that had made the journey from Chesedonia to Baticul, so the port was somewhat spared the crowds that usually entailed a ship's arrival. The passengers that had disembarked, quickly caught an air car to wherever they were going, leaving Luke and his friends more or less alone on the docks, save for a few citizens who often loitered around this part of the city.

Luke looked around; everything was as he remembered it. The murky water, the cobblestone streets, the towering buildings; nothing had changed. He already missed the pristine waters of Tataroo Valley and the colourful vegetation of St. Binah, but all that was a part of the past now. Brushing aside the disappointment that realization brought with it, Luke set his mind on the task at hand. He couldn't let himself sulk just yet; he still had the hardest part of their journey to complete. Seeing two familiar figures approaching in the distance, Luke realized that task was about to get a whole lot harder.

"Commander Goldberg, General Cecille," the young noble greeted them both. Though he managed to remember their names from their occasional visits to the manor to see Father, he wasn't able to entirely hide the surprise in his voice. He may not know much about how everything worked at the castle, but he knew enough to know it was no small affair that had such high ranking people doing the guards' job. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Luke! It's good to see you've returned home safely. I hope you'll excuse my rudeness, but we've urgent business to attend to." Goldberg replied, brushing past the young noble.

"My apologies," Cecille bowed her head as they walked by.

"There he is. I've found the spy!" Goldberg called to the female commander, wasting no time singling Jade out. "You are clearly of the Malkuth military, identify yourself at once!"

Jade shrugged, a disappointed sigh escaping his lips. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected difficulty, but surely they could have gone unnoticed longer than that... "Colonel Jade Curtiss," he finally provided. "Third Division Malkuth Imperial Forces."

"The Jade Curtiss?" Cecille exclaimed. "Why would Malkuth send such a renowned soldier as a spy?"

"I'm not certain. He is the emperor's personal confidant." Goldberg answered. "Regardless, he's clearly the one we're looking for. Restrain him at once!"

"Enough!" Asch's voice caused both Kimlascan commanders to halt, turning around to find its source. "Stand down. I'll vouch that he is not a spy and of no threat to Kimlasca. On whose orders was it to arrest him?"

"It was Grand Maestro Mohs that brought news of a spy being sent from Malkuth. Several units were dispatched to monitor the entrances shortly afterwards." Cecille provided.

"Grand Maestro Mohs was it?" Asch thought on it for a moment. "Commander Goldberg, please return to the castle and arrange a formal meeting with his Majesty at once. Tell him I said it's urgent. Brigadier General Cecille, could I ask you to return to our manor and let our parents know we've returned?"

"Certainly." The Brigadier General smiled and bowed her head.

"Why thank you for keeping me out of their custody," Jade said mockingly.

"Easier to get you out of their custody than out of the dungeon," Asch shot back. "Besides someone as old and frail as you would probably catch pneumonia." Jade let out an indignant cough.

"That's some authority you have for the son of a Duke," he commented, surprised to see the pair not only do exactly as he had asked, but to do so without any form of protest. Interesting. Luke shuffled uncomfortably next to him. Very interesting.

"Well that's what you get when you're the heir to the throne." Luke spat bitterly.

"Whoa. Whoa. Hold a second. You're a prince?" Anise shouted, drawing the attention of the few people still hanging around the port.

"No, not technically," Asch muttered, somewhat disgruntled at the sudden attention.

"He's engaged to Princess Natalia," Guy provided.

"What?" Anise voice struck a pitch higher than Mieu was capable of. "You mean you're engaged? No way! Luke! Why didn't you tell me he was already getting hitched?"

Luke snickered, "Because it was way too much fun to watch."

"Damn! I have no luck at all! I picked the wrong one."

"What was that Anise?" Ion inquired curiously.

"Oh nothing!" She chirped cheerfully. "Nothing at all! Isn't the king waiting for us? We'd better not keep him waiting!" Anise skipped off towards on of the air cars. "Come on guys! We're going to be late!"

"There's not that much of a hurry," Asch told her as she made her way back to the group. "It'll take Goldburg some time to arrange the audience. We have some time to kill."

"We still don't want to be late though." Luke commented to Guy, casually resting his arms behind his head.

"Yeah, it looks like we're already in his Majesty's bad books," the blond agreed.

"What concerns me is Grand Maestro Mohs' interference," Jade commented. "It's looking more and more like he's looking to start a war."

"There must be some kind of mistake. Grand Maestro Mohs would never want a war!" Tear interjected.

"We can't say for certain, but even you must agree that he is the most suspicious of the potential suspects," Jade pointed out.

"Yeah," Anise piped up, "and he also has the authority to command the God-Generals."

"Ahhh, I see now." At that statement, Jade suddenly came to a realization. So many more pieces fell into place now that he knew the full extent of Asch's identity.

"See what Colonel?"

"That's how you knew you would be a target at Choral Castle wasn't it? As the heir to the throne, kidnapping you would be a logical move if they were attempting to start a war. In fact, I'd almost go as far as to say, it would be more effective than kidnapping Ion." Jade elaborated, his scrutinizing gaze never leaving the future king in question.

"Wait a sec!" Anise too came to a realization, "if you've got that much say in things, then we really wouldn't have needed Ion as a mediator. Why'd you go so out of your way to help us rescue him?"

Asch stole a glance at Luke but didn't answer the question. "We should get going. It'll still be some time before we need to be at the castle, but we'd best head off now in case we run into any interruptions along the way."

"Certainly, Your Majesty." Jade said mockingly with an exaggerated bow.

Asch scowled. "Watch it, or I'll stick you in that dungeon myself old man," he said menacingly before turning and heading for the air cars.

"They'll be plenty of opportunity for prodding later," Jade muttered contentedly, following in Asch's suit.

"Shall we be off then?" Guy asked Luke.

"Sure. Let's go. Coming Ion?"

"Yes. Let's go stop this war."

"Wow!" Anise ran out into the plaza gazing up at the towering heights of Baticul. She had never seen the capital of Kimlasca before. It went up forever. She wondered how on all Auldrant they got building materials up to the very top! She bet that's where all the rich people lived, and what an awesome view they must have!

Tear too was taking her time to check out the sights. The last time she had been here, she had been so focused on finding and killing Van that she hadn't taken the time to enjoy what Baticul had to offer. She looked over at Luke, he certainly seemed happy to be home. Maybe now that they were home, he and Asch could finally make up.

Admittedly, they hadn't actually argued since they had left Chesedonia. However, now they simply went on as if the other wasn't even there. Tear almost preferred it when they were arguing; at least when they were yelling at each other, they were still acknowledging the other's existence. Guy seemed to be surprisingly okay with it when she she had taken the opportunity to ask about it on the way here. Perhaps she was just making a big deal out of things, it was probably normal for them to fight like this. She wouldn't know, after all, Van hadn't really been around enough when she was young for them to ever get into any huge disagreements. In fact the only disagreement they'd ever had, had been the one that resulted in her trying to kill him in the Fabre Manor a few weeks ago. So putting it in perspective, Luke and Asch really weren't doing all that bad.

Guy watched Tear stifle a smile and wondered where her train of thought had taken her. He walked up the stairs beside Luke, Asch, Jade and Tear in front of them, Ion and Anise bringing up the rear. Anise behind him, now that didn't make him feel especially safe. He still felt kind of bad about what had happened on the boat ride to Chesedonia. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he just couldn't help it.

"Hey Guy?"

"Hm? What's up Luke? You seem pretty serious."

"I'm sorry about what Asch said to you yesterday."

"What's with you all of a sudden? What he says isn't your fault."

"Hm." Luke stared out at the endless sea. He really was upset. "Do you mind if I ask you something?" Luke finally spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Why are you afraid of women?"

Guy scratched the back of his head. "That's a good question. To be honest, I really don't know."

"If you don't know, how come it's so scary for you then?"

Guy let out a sigh. He really hadn't planned to tell anyone, much less Luke. "When I was young, my entire family died. I don't remember the details of what happened. But I think that something that happened then is the cause."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was a long time ago now."

"Stupid Asch," Luke muttered.

"Oh come on Luke, don't be so bitter, it's your first time on a boat after all." Guy grinned and patted him on the back.

"Have you been telling that to everyone?"

"Well...not everyone." Guy laughed.

"Now why do I not believe you?" Luke eyed him suspiciously. "Because you're about the only one who knows and who would be in the position to tell everyone else."

"Has Jade been bugging you about it?"

"No… why did you tell him?"

"No... but maybe you'd best avoid him for awhile..." Guy backed off nervously.

"Hey get back here!" Luke chased after him but slipped on the wet deck.

"Luke!" Guy motioned to help Luke to his feet, but the gesture was refused. For a moment Guy wondered if Luke was angry with him, but those fears were dispelled when Luke threw his head back and did something Guy had been trying to coerce him into all day. He laughed.

A flash of pink hair snapped Guy back to the present. Was that-?

"Oh hello Luke!" A local woman came up to them.

"Gyah!" Guy dove behind said redhead.

"Hello Guy," the lady chuckled, "Still as frightful as ever I see."

"Y-yeah."

"I'm glad to see you've returned safely. It's nice to see they finally let you out of the city. Did you enjoy your trip?"

Luke thought on it for a moment. "Yeah… I did."

"Well I best be on my way, it was nice seeing you again." The lady was gone just as suddenly as she came.

"Hey Luke?" Anise inquired curiously, "What did she mean by 'finally being allowed out of the city'? Have you never been out of the city before?"

"No, I was always forbidden from ever leaving Baticul." Luke replied.

"That's a shame," Ion spoke up. "There are all kinds of wonderful things to see in the world. May I ask why?"

"It has to do with something that happened when I was little," Luke answered, but didn't offer any details.

"We should be going." Asch insisted, continuing on towards the lift.

"Now who's rushing?" Anise muttered.

"He's right, we should go," Guy agreed. "The longer we linger around, the longer whoever wants this war to happen has of stopping us." He took another look around; there was no sign of Noir or either of her cronies. Maybe it was just his imagination after all.

Anise had been right about Baticul's highest levels, the view was stunning. Tear took a look around. It was nothing like the rest of the city. While most of Baticul was neat and well kept, it seemed to lack any kind of colour. At Baticul's peak, the Castle stood before a gorgeous courtyard. Flowing water, and flowers and trees gave it a life that the rest of the city lacked. Beside the castle stood a large pristine white manor, equally immersed in gardens surrounded by a large, well kept yard.

"Is that where you live?" Ion asked Luke as they walked by.

"Yeah, that's our manor," Luke answered, waving cheerfully to the guard at the entrance. The guard casually waved back, but snapped to attention when Asch looked his way.

"You know, you don't have to come to the castle," Asch said, speaking to Luke for the first time since Chesedonia. Tear noticed that the underlying anger and resentment in his voice seemed to have faded. Maybe there was hope for the two of them yet. "I can take care of things if you just want to head home."

Luke however, didn't seem so calm about it. At Asch's words, she could see the fury build up inside of him. "I'm not going home! I promised Ion that I would help him stop this war just like you did! I put my fair share of work into this journey too, you know!"

"Fine, do whatever you want." Asch backed off, clearly not in the mood to fight.

"We have an audience with His Majesty," Asch told the guard on duty at the door once they reached the castle.

"Yes, we have been informed by Commander Goldberg of your arrival," the guard replied. "Is there someone named Tear among you?"

"Yes. That's me." Tear stepped up.

"Grand Maestro Mohs requested you report to him as soon as possible."

"Was the Grand Maestro here recently?" Asch inquired.

"Yes, he left just moments ago. I believe His Majesty cut the Grand Maestro's audience short when he received your message. The Grand Maestro was in a rather foul mood," the guard grumbled, obviously having been the unfortunate target of said foul mood.

"Thank you for the message. I shall report to him as soon as I'm finished with my responsibilities here." Tear gave the guard a small bow as she followed everyone into the castle, up the grand stairway, and through the two massive doors that stood between them and their final destination.

The throne room was quite unlike anything Tear had seen before. The vaulted ceiling went up almost two stories and several large windows let the afternoon sun light steam in on all those who stood below. At the end of a long red carpet, stood three thrones sitting just slightly higher than the rest of the room, putting the two figures that sat there above their audience. In the middle one sat the king, His Majesty King Ingobert the sixth, and on his right sat a girl who must have been the princess. She sat with all the dignity that would befit one of her station, her green eyes eagerly fixed on the visitors entering through the doors. The third throne to the left was empty.

As soon as they had all entered the room, the young princess' face lit up. Her golden hair and blue dress were still flowing out behind her as she landed in Asch's arms. She held him, almost sobbing and it took a moment for the surprised young noble to return the gesture.

"Why?" Natalia's voice was muffled as she buried her face into Asch's shoulder. No one needed to see her face to tell that she was bordering on tears. "I was so worried! Why did you run off like that without saying anything?"

Asch held her closer. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. "There was something I had to do."

"I know, but I thought I'd lost you again. Please don't make me worry like that." Natalia stayed in his comforting embrace for a little while longer but eventually she detached herself from Asch and looked him in the eyes. "You still could have stopped by to see me before you left!" she scolded.

"Sorry Natalia, but it was important."

"Well, what's past is past. There is little point in fighting about it now."

"Not to interrupt such an important reunion," Jade cut in, "but we do have some more formal business to attend to."

"Yes," Ingobert commented from the throne, "let us get on with business, and you two can catch up once we're done."

"Uncle, this is Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei and Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Empire. They wish to speak with you on behalf of Emperor Peony," Luke said as he stepped forward.

"Ah Luke, its good to see you've returned home safely as well." Ingobert smiled at his nephew. "Thank you for the introduction, now of what matters did Peony wish to discuss?"

"Thank you," Ion bowed, "It's an honour to see you again Your Majesty. I come before you today accompanied by Colonel Jade Curtiss who is here on behalf of Emperor Peony the Ninth. I implore you to heard him out and consider his words."

"Indeed, I shall hear what he has to say," Ingobert agreed.

"I am honoured to be in your presence." Jade kneeled before King Ingobert, holding out a large white envelope, emblazoned with Malkuth's seal and gold lettering across the front. "I bear an imperial letter from my lord for His Glorious Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth."

Luke had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing outright at the sight of Jade being so humble. Despite the words out of his mouth, it still didn't seem all that sincere, as if Jade truly were the one with more authority. Not all that surprising, it was Jade after all.

"Uncle, I don't know what Mohs was telling you, but there can't be a war!" Luke burst out.

"Relax Luke, the letter from Malkuth arrived, and I won't ignore it. However, there are a few things I'd like to know. Asch, could I ask you to spend the night at the castle? It'll be a good experience for you, and you might be able to help me since you travelled through Malkuth.

"Certainly," Asch replied, with Natalia still happily attached to his arm.

"Well then, I'll have rooms prepared for our guests. It may be some time before they're ready." Ingobert trailed off.

"That's alright," Ion spoke up, "Actually, if it's okay with you Luke, I wouldn't mind seeing your manor. You've told me so much about it."

"Sure," Luke accepted eagerly.

"Then I'll see that the rooms are prepared upon your return," Ingobert replied, leaving everyone but Asch and Natalia to make their way towards the door.

"Luke." Asch tried to catch his sibling's attention, but Luke continued to walk towards Asch as if he hadn't said a thing.

"Luke," Asch said louder, grabbing his arm as he walked by. Luke gave him an angry look for a split second before ripping his arm out of Asch's grasp and disappearing down the stairs. Everyone watched the scenario play out, but with little to say of add, they silently followed Luke's stead, leaving a very hurt Asch to stare at the empty doorway through which his little brother had just abandoned him.

"You manor looks quite impressive," Ion commented as they entered the outer gates.

"Thanks." Luke blushed a little.

"Well, this is where we part company," Jade spoke up.

"What? Jade doesn't want the grand tour?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"Tsk. Tsk. Keep that attitude up and you'll end up just like Asch." Luke scowled. "I'll pass, I've a few things in the city I wouldn't mind looking into, but perhaps that should wait until the morning. I highly doubt we'll have such a quick reply and someone as old as I can't handle long days like this."

"Old...uh huh...sure," Luke mumbled, watching Jade headed back to the castle. "Wonder what he's really up to."

"You'll find out someday, that it's just safer not to know," Anise commented.

"Wow! So this is Master's home?" Mieu bounced up to the door. "Can we go inside? Can we please?"

"Yes, so stop begging already," Luke replied, cringing as the little creature's excitement cranked its voice up an octave.

Luke opened the doors and everyone walked into the entrance hall. Through the windows, they could see the courtyard, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.

"Ah! Master Luke." One of the guards greeted him. "It's good to see you return. With the Lady being ill and all-"

"Wait," Luke cut him off, "Mother's sick?"

"She fell ill not long after you vanished."

"Can we go see her first?" Luke asked, turning around to face everyone.

"Of course," Ion replied, "I wouldn't dream of keeping you from going to see your sick mother."

"Yes, that would be for the best," Tear also answered. "But, don't you think we should go get Asch?"

Luke thought on it for a moment, his face growing sad. "No," He finally said with a small sigh, "Asch will be really busy at the castle right now. He has a lot of responsibilities and things to attend to, especially with the letter from Malkuth and peace negotiations. He doesn't need anything else to worry about right now."

Tear watched Luke, the look on his face speaking the volumes that he wouldn't. He didn't hate Asch. There was no anger or resentment or bitterness anymore. Just a sad acceptance of a truth that hurt. No matter what he did, Asch would always have more authority, more power to help his friends than Luke would. Luke knew and understood this. He understood the extent of Asch's responsibilities, and she suspected he sometimes wished he could be a part of it... but he couldn't, and that hurt him more than anything else.

"Let's go see your mother," she offered with a gentle smile, taking Luke's hand.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Luke!" Susanne sat up in bed when she saw her son enter. "You're home! Are you alright? Were you hurt? Did anyone-"

"I'm fine Mother." Luke smiled, cutting off her worried tirade of questions.

"And-"

"Asch is fine too. He just has business he has to attend to at the castle tonight," Luke said softly as he sat on the bed at her side. She leaned over and gave him a hug.

"I'm so glad you've both come home safely."

"Ma'am," Tear drew Susanne's attention, "I'm terribly sorry for involving your sons in all this." She said with a deep bow.

"You're Van's little sister? Tear?"

"Yes. I apologize for my actions; I attempted to strike down my brother without giving thought to where I was or who else might get involved. I'm truly sorry."

"Thank you for your apologies... but Tear, please don't strike at your own brother. I couldn't imagine if my boys-" Susanne couldn't bring herself to finish her line, but the meaning was clear. Luke put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for your kind words," Tear replied, unable to look Susanne in the eye.

"So Luke, who are these other people, I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Oh!" Luke stood up, "these are my other friends. This is Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei, and this is his Guardian Anise. I was just going to show them around the manor."

"What about me?" Mieu hopped onto the bed beside Susanne.

"And this is Mieu. He's a cheagle from the woods north of Engeve."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Mieu squeaked.

"Well, don't let me keep you," Susanne told them. "You go show them around and have a good time."

"I think I'll stay here and keep Master's mother company!" Mieu said curling up on one of the soft pillows.

"That would be lovely," Susanne replied, watching the young cheagle start to fall asleep. "You go enjoy yourselves now. Don't worry about us, I think we could both use some sleep."

"Thanks Mother."

"It was a pleasure to meet you." Ion said with a bow.

"The pleasure was all mine Fon Master," Susanne stated. "I do hope you enjoy your stay here."

"I'm quite certain I will," he replied with a smile, and with that gesture they all left the Lady of the house to rest.

"Wow Luke! Your house is huge!" Anise's voice almost echoed in the entrance hall. A couple hours, a good solid meal, and much laughter later, they had finished the tour of the house. The last light of day was fading, and night slowly blanketed the city.

"Yes, it certainly is a lovely house. You must have enjoyed growing up here," Ion commented.

"Oh it has its ups and downs," Guy commented.

"That's right; you've worked here for quite awhile haven't you?"

"Yeah, since I was pretty young. Can't say I can complain too much. Except maybe being worked to death by a couple of fussy redheads."

"Hey!" Luke cried, outraged.

"If you don't mind my saying so Luke, your room seemed rather small compared to the others," Ion offered hesitantly.

"Yeah, well…"

"There's a story behind that," Guy spoke up.

"Ooo, let's hear it!" Anise got excited.

"It's not that exciting" Luke grumbled. He wasn't especially fond of listening to others tell stories of the crazy things he'd done as a child.

"He's right," Guy chuckled, "it's not that exciting. Luke actually used to have a much bigger room on the other side of the manor. That was when he was still pretty young. We'd keep waking up and finding him in Asch's room. He'd sneak in there every time he was scared or he had a bad dream or anything. Eventually it was becoming an issue. We didn't want someone so young trekking across the manor in the middle of the night, so we moved him into that room which was right above Asch's. And well, he's just never moved out of it."

"It was Mother's idea." Luke said, suddenly very interested in the decorative cannon at the other end of the room.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Tear asked softly.

"I wouldn't worry," Guy told her. "Now that Luke and Asch are home, I'm sure she'll be just fine. She's always been a bit weak, so I'd be willing to bet that it was Luke's disappearing and Asch taking off all of a sudden that made her ill."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm sure of one thing," Anise interrupted, "We need to be getting back to the castle. It's getting pretty late."

"Yes, thank you very much for the tour Luke." Ion smiled, "Perhaps we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll stop in sometime for sure."

"I should be off too," Tear agreed. "I still have to report to the Grand Maestro."

"Alright, have a good night you guys. I'll see you all tomorrow!" Luke called as the door closed behind the three of them.

"Speaking of reporting, I should probably go report to the White Knights. They weren't too thrilled the search for you and Asch was left to a 'lowly servant' like me."

"Going to kiss up?"

"More than likely," Guy responded with a chuckle. "You heading off to bed?"

"Yeah, it's been a long day."

"I'll see you in the morning then," Guy said before he disappeared behind the door that lead to the servant's quarters.

It had been a long day. Luke opened the doors and walked out into the courtyard, the crisp night air making him shiver. Across the courtyard, he could see the light in his parent's room still on. He was glad his mother had seemed like she would be okay. The times when she fell ill used to scare him to tears when he was still young. Even now, he hated to see her like that. Someone so strong of heart didn't deserve to be that weak.

He wondered if he should have gone to get Asch after all. Seeing him certainly would have given her a good boost... but Asch was undoubtedly busy up at the castle. Asch had responsibilities. He was going somewhere in life. Asch had a future. Luke…didn't.

Luke let out a sigh as he stared at the empty courtyard. This was where it had all begun, and now, where it was all ending. Fitting as it was, he still wished it wasn't ending... and, it wasn't how he wanted it to end either. Not like this. Not with things between him and Asch as they were. This wasn't how he wanted to come home.

He looked up at the stars, and a sudden sharp pain crashed down on him. A very familiar, head-splitting pain; one that he would have been very happy to never have to feel again. In fact, he wasn't even supposed to be feeling it. Wasn't that whole mess at Choral Castle supposed to fix it? Luke held his head, knowing from seven years of experience what came next.

But when the voice came, it wasn't the deep resonating voice he had come to expect every time his head hurt. It was a different voice, a much more familiar voice. One that he'd recognize in an instant because, after all, he'd heard it almost every day in his seven years of life.

'Luke, we need to talk.'